Savvy Consumers Search for Information First

Consumers who search online for televisions and digital cameras spend 10 percent more than those who did not search when they purchase such items in a store.

This research (Yahoo!, ChannelForce) is probably not surprising to those of us who have gone into an electronics store or department and tried to learn something from the clerk.

Even in BestBuy.com, asking a question about anything besides car speakers or gaming computers is likely to get a DUH look from someone who is supposed to help me make a decision.

As much as I want to support local merchants, I buy almost everything online. Its easy, fast and secure. I do not have to see that DUH either. LOL

Research Brief » Blog Archive » Consumers Spend More on Electronics if Studied First on Web-read the article

Findings from the article:

• Seventy five percent who researched their purchases before visiting a retail location used the Internet as their primary source of information. The leading online resources were retail Web sites (73 percent), manufacturer websites (68 percent) and search engines (49 percent).
  
  
• Those who search spend an average of $31 more on digital cameras and $46 more on digital camera packages; and an average of $139 more on TVs and $190 on TV packages.
  
  
• More than 80 percent of consumers who research before making a purchase end up buying a brand from their original consideration set. The remaining 20 percent said the in-store sales person was highly influential in their decision.
  
  
• About 75 percent of people did not know the model they wanted when they walked into a retail store.

Tags: Research Brief, MediaPost, consumer research, digital camera, TV, spend more at store